serial killers in brevard county, florida serial killers in brevard county, florida

August 5, 1990, 0128 hours: Elna Hlavaty, Humphrey's grandmother, phones deputies to report that her grandson is "high" on drugs. A closer look revealed that it wasnt a marine mammal near the mangroves, but something even more disturbing:a human body. And rarely does anyone say anything to his face, except to tell him they're on his side. However, Leach was his final victim, and Bundy was apprehended and convicted of her murder and the killings of Levy and Bowman, the two young women at FSU. He's jaded, you know.". Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. - A family finally has some answers more than 40 years after a Tampa woman went missing. He is released to the custody of his mother. He said a lot of grandiose things (that) caused him to be a suspect. "VVhen he was not taking his lithium, he was a clearly diagnosed manic-depressive," Marti Mackenzie says. Her body was spotted in a ditch near the Interstate 95 overpass by a couple driving on the Beeline Expressway in February 1987. There was enormous pressure on Gainesville police, on state investigators, on prosecutors, to find the killer and put him behind bars. Some were creepy serial killer artists, who made their horrific acts perversely aesthetic. Creating unbelievably gruesome crime scenes that were designed to shock the people who had the misfortune of happening upon them, hestabbed his young victims to death, mutilatedtheir bodies, and posed their corpses in disturbing positions. Yet the lead prosecutor in the case continued to insist that Ed was a suspect in three of the killings, that perhaps he and Rolling had acted together. Police are withholding a motive. Instead, he got 62 hours of community service at the local Humane Society--which liked him so much it hired him afterward. JEFF DAUGHERTY , 33, died Nov. 7, 1988, by electric chair. Her death sentence was vacated on 12/6/90. Sheriff's officials think she a victim of Christopher Wilder, a serial killer who police suspect killed at least 11 women across the country. My source made a compelling argument that this man may have been a serial killer responsible for other murders. On the next day, Giles was arrested and his car was examined, during which investigators seized a 22-caliber pistol. And now, he doesn't volunteer his history unless people bring it up. Yet the Sunshine State is. Murder on the Space Coast: John Torres discusses Season 2. In the subsequent search, police staked out his ex-wife's house, as they had received a tip that Giles was planning to kidnap his daughter from his ex-wife, but he was found five miles away from the prison, 26 hours after escaping. "Ed's a good friend. INDIAN RIVER COUNTY A child found the body of what law enforcement officials said appeared to be a middle-aged man on the shore of the Indian River Lagoon Wednesday along a popular . BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - For weeks a slew of seemingly mysterious deaths - from a suspected suicide found on the banks of a scenic riverside neighborhood to a body found lying in the middle of a. View our online Press Pack. And I said, 'Holy sh--.' "I feel 100 percent that the media is the main reason our country is the way it is," Ed says afterward, disgusted. And when the jail returned it--saying it did not allow cash to be mailed to inmates--Kennedy got a money order. "That's all I need.". And he reportedly has been whispering details of the killings to a fellow inmate, who has been telling investigators. After all, who wouldn't love to own Dracula's cape? "Ed--everywhere he went he caused a scene," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He tried repeatedly to find work, but kept being turned away, often with no explanation. There are a few random cases of women with a genteel knack for poisoning, but serial murdering "black widows" are a small club indeed. In 11, they have leads, a few suspects and insufficient evidence to make an arrest. Display: 36 per page Sort by: Featured View Fiends Serial Killers Shirt From $ 24.95 53 reviews He had been shot six times in the torso. "I feel really bad about this," she confided, "but they knew who you were, and when you left they were all laughing and saying, 'Man, we're not going to give that guy a job."'. And lately, it turned out, he'd been totally out of control-threatening people, talking about Satan, carrying knives and wearing camouflage. The Florida Gay Bar Murders: Gary Ray Bowles was a bisexual who cruised the Florida gay bars in the mid-1990's looking for men to murder and rob. Well, then that is not only a major story but it is also a fascinating one. Divers came out with a red and white nautical rope with burnt ends just like the cord used to bind Misty. He was declared sane, and a trial date was scheduled for April 29, 1974. "And, like, they point in my face telling me, 'Don't do that again, man. WHEN THE PATROL CAR PULLED up that day, Elna Hlavaty was waiting in fear on the columned front porch of her home. He was robbed and shot leaving his convenience store in December 1986. She was found strangled, wearing only a St. Christopher's necklace; her shirt and sweater were found near her remains. Bernard Eugene Giles (born April 9, 1953) is an American serial killer and rapist who killed five girls and women in Titusville, Florida between September and November 1973. Both women were found murdered in their bedrooms. "I can't blame them for making Ed a suspect, but I can blame them for sticking with it. Her nude body was found strangled, hands bound, eight days later. He would not be here, sharing his birthday with the media, were it not for the publicist. Some women actually spared their lives by engaging me in conversations," he said. "It sucked man.". On October 23, 2002, Huck, who Mistys father, Bob Morsecalled a gutless coward, was. A neighbor also reports that the grandson is running in and out of the home - shouting that he is going to murder the grandparents. These cases are believed to have been committed by the same individual. They hoped that these hairscould help lead to the killer. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! His wife found their daughter playing with a purse that did not belong to her. His victims were all hitchhikers whom he picked up and drove at gunpoint to remote orange groves where he sexually abused and shot them. There were 'only' 120 cities in Florida where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 87 places had no murder. It got easier with each one we did.". One day in April 1988--after Ed had dropped out of school for a while and gone to live with his brother, George, in Gainesville--the two were taking a drive to the beach to talk about Ed moving home. Anyone else--they would have dropped the charges or maybe given him one year's probation. She had disappeared June 6, 1983, while vacationing in Cocoa Beach. The killer always managed to avoid being spottedby potential witnesses. -- Darrell Brock, 24, of Cape Canaveral. Wilder, 39, a wealthy Boynton Beach man, committed. She had white duct tape around her mouth and eyes, all signs of a homicide. Mans best friend helped solve the case after Misty Morse was found dead in the Indian River. And there was the black dog, Chiba, a Rottweiler-German shepherd mix that was a gift from Misty during the couples happier times. The killer mutilated the breasts of two of the young women. To girls it makes a difference. Dave Farley, a senior patrol leader, remembers hiking the Appalachian Trail with Ed, his assistant. "Don't take a picture of me with the knife," he says. A television blared. His grandmother, now passed away, forgave him. When the discussion turned to a human anatomy class that McGrath was taking, McGrath said, Ed asked her what it was like to cut up bodies and if she ever took skin or body parts home to "mess around with it.". After his arrest, Bonin confessed, telling one TV reporter: "I couldn't stop killing. As they spoke, Misty got a phone call that was so brief investigators theorized it was a call to say Im here from the person who picked Misty up. Carlton, a neighbor . He stabbed a young man 30 times and cut another woman's torso from her pelvis to her chest. "I'd have taken a room full of him," says Bill Thomas, Ed's teacher in eighth grade. It was shortly after midnight on Thursday when Misty stopped and asked her mother how she looked. "And I was glad to do it.". "I guess I kind of pushed her because she fell and hit her head on that mantle there. On July 23, 2000, in Merritt Island, Florida, a local judge thought he spotted a lifeless manatee floating in the waterway behind his home. We need a backstory, an explanation because we don't like to believe the possibility that evil just exists. Sheriff's officials are withholding possible motives. Officer Steven Smith responds. "I don't want people to read about me. The bloating of the body of the victim indicated that shed been in the water forabout three and a half days. The neighborhood boy reported the shooting to the police, enabling the authorities to rescue Martin, nude and bound, from the attic of Gore's parents' home. Margaret Allen, 45, was convicted last September of killing and torturing the housekeeper in 2005 who accused her of stealing $2,000. He was shot in the chest during a September 1981 robbery outside the liquor store where he worked. And it just dropped me into a depression. The nude body of David Spears, a 43-year-old construction worker, was found June 1, 1990, in Citrus County. She knew hmm only as Ed--a nice guy, hard worker, easy to get along with. Ed's co-worker at the Humane Society, Nancy Breslin, says people sometimes look warily at Ed and say things like: Who's that guy you've got working back there? Other times it appears to happen in an instant. He glances again at the photographer. The killer used a "razor sharp" instrument.) TED BUNDY: He is considered one of Florida's most notorious serial killers. CBS . Human remains were found in the yard . He was in a wheelchair for weeks. It would take two years for that to, change,thanks to a breakthrough case in California that used. -- Nancy K. Brown, 25, of Rantoul, Ill. [1], Giles was born on April 9, 1953, in a Titusville family with three other children. Investigators then submitted the hairs stuck to white duct tape on Mistys body to a West Coast lab for analysis. He takes a slug of coffee and fidgets with an unlit cigarette. In 1972, he married 17-year-old Leslie Jo Ann, who gave birth to a daughter in July 1973. Ed has what doctors call bipolar disorder--known more commonly as manic-depression, a devastating roller coaster of fantastical elation and utter despair. She was found nude, bludgeoned and tied to a burning bed in her home in April. When I --what else?--oh, how about when I got off probation?". In the wee hours of January 15, 1978, the fugitive serial murderer broke into a Florida State University sorority house and attacked four young women, killing Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman by bludgeoning them to death. Published Oct. 20, 2017. "Recon lock and load!" Contact Torres at 321-242-3684 or at jtorres@floridatoday.com. His parents led a law-abiding lifestyle and were described as good, caring parents, thanks to which Giles had a happy childhood and grew up in a stable home. They were Paula Hamric, a 22-year-old mother-of-two, Nancy Gerry, 18, Carolyn Bennett, 17, Sharon Wimer and Krista Melton, both just 14. "I can only afford to fill the tank halfway," he says, settling into a window seat at an upscale downtown restaurant. It is his 21st birthday, and he is spending it having lunch with a publicist--hired by his attorney--a reporter and a photographer. In it were detailed notes he hoped I would follow up on regarding unsolved murders in Brevard County and his belief that they may have been the work of a former Florida Highway Patrolman convicted of murder in 1990. THERE IS A FORTRESS of friends surrounding Ed Humphrey now. The victims were the parents of Heather Wendorf, a friend of Ferrell's.. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Due to chronic absenteeism and poor academic performance, he was forced to leave school at age 16, after which he mastered the trade of an electrician and began working. Ed looks out over the water, his face calm. He'd seen interviews with his new neighbors on the evening news, and they had said they were afraid of Ed Humphrey. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. He had been an exemplary student. A once-peaceful university town panicked. Her body was found beaten with a rock and dumped in a wooded area of Rockledge in March. "He has been persecuted. Miami Herald file The killings follow the ghastly murders of three young Gainesville-area women. When the police arrested Ed, they put him in a solitary cell in the infirmary for 76 days. Humphrey was asked to leave the premises by Officer Smith, and he complied, but not before threatening Officer Smith that he (Humphrey) was going to cut his eyes out and send him to hell. Her mother, Linda Morse, told authorities she had last seen Misty three days earlieras shewas getting ready to go out. Huck maintains his innocence and insists it was Misty's other ex-boyfriend who actually murdered her. -- Mamilee Zanders, 72, of Melbourne. The family of 53-year-old John Marcano is distraught after his death following a crash into a Phantom Fireworks store which then erupted into flames. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. () Ted Bundy: ) This sexual predator hit the central region of Florida. Stano moved to the Daytona area with his parents when he was a young adult. There was some scuttlebutt online about our case, said Cmdr. Kennedy even sent money. He spent a lot of that time in Chattahoochee, the state hospital for mentally ill prisoners. Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). A closer look revealed that it wasn't a marine mammal near the mangroves, but something even more disturbing: a human body. Marc Claycomb of the Melbourne Police Department. He'll never change his name, but some day, he says, when he's done with school, he might move somewhere far away. After a SWAT team rammed its armed vehicle into a Florida home early Tuesday, officers let loose a police dog to drag an alleged serial killer out of his hiding spot in the garage.The . The deputy put Humphrey in the back of his patrol car. Only time will tell if it was a case of serendipity or simply a weird coincidence. She had been shot in the head. (The seven Brevard arrestees are overwhelmingly white, all men and have a median age over 40 a profile consistent with the majority of . The murders occurred over several days, which made them all the more terrifying. Again, please know that there is absolutely no truth to these rumors and if there were to ever be a critical incident of this type or need for concern, our agency would immediately share the information with our community so we could do everything possible to keep our citizens safe, Ivey said. 23, 2021 VIERA, Fla. Brandon Lee Bradley, who is on death row for shooting and killing Brevard County Deputy Barbara Pill during a 2012 traffic stop, will be sentenced. Harris had the means. Investigators then submitted the hairs stuck to white duct tape on Mistys body to a West Coast lab for analysis. Who is serial killer Bernard Giles and what crimes did he commit? The various deaths were isolated incidents that were either by natural causes, drug overdose, or suicide, however, they had nothing to do with each other and were not deemed to be suspicious in nature, he said. Florida Gunman Kills 4, Including Mother Who Was Still Cradling Her Baby Sheriff deputies in Polk County said they encountered a massive gunfight Sunday with a suspect in full body armor . Brevard County Sheriffs Office Agent Gary Harrell located the partially-clad body of a woman floating face down in the Indian River. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com . Others have. One said it was a "violent" environment. [11][12], While sifting through the cases, a forensic ballistic examination confirmed that Gerry had been killed with a revolver belonging to Giles, and he was subsequently charged with her murder. "Here was a kid who was held up as a ass murderer," Mackenzie says. Email us attips@the-sun.co.ukor call 0207 782 4368 . The reports painted an eerie picture. ", "Always studying. Walls received a sentence of life in prison for the murder of Alger and for the killings of three others he would later confess to. She saw what happened to him once, and she will not risk letting it happen again. He was tall, good-looking, athletic, polite. Her body was found strangled or drowned and dumped in the Indian River in September 1983. On July 23, 2000, in Merritt Island, Florida, a local judge thought he spotted a lifeless manatee floating in the waterway behind his home. -- Kimberly Walker, 21, of Vero Beach, and another woman yet to be identified. "He was just the wrong boy at the wrong place at the wrong time--with the wrong malady.". Details of the deaths, locations, were shared repeatedly. We also have a serial killers collection - for the truly edgy crowd. At the same time, Cocoa Police were also working a missing person case involving a 31-year-old mother of four whose body was discovered in a remote wooded area in Osceola County. A real estate agent in Florida hunted down homeless men, according to authorities out of Miami.